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2025 Goldman Prize Winners 'Serve as Powerful Reminders of What Is Possible'
"There's so much that worries us, stresses us, outrages us, and keeps us divided," said one foundation leader. "However, for me, these environmental leaders and teachers... are the antidote."
Apr 21, 2025
Seven grassroots Earth defenders from around the world were announced on Monday as the 2025 Goldman Environmental Prize winners.
"It's been a tough year for both people and the planet," said Jennifer Goldman Wallis, vice president of the Goldman Environmental Foundation, in a statement. "There's so much that worries us, stresses us, outrages us, and keeps us divided. However, for me, these environmental leaders and teachers—and the global environmental community that supports them—are the antidote."
"If we apply the same passion and logic that we use in the protection of our own families to our broader communities and ecosystems, then we will win," she continued. "In these difficult times for environmental activists, these seven individuals serve as powerful reminders of what is possible through determination, resilience, and hope."
Since 1989, the foundation has awarded the annual prize to individuals from the world's six inhabited continental regions "for sustained and significant efforts to protect and enhance the natural environment, often at great personal risk."
Africa: Semia Gharbi of Tunisia
Gharbi, a 57-year-old scientist and environmental educator, led a campaign against a corrupt waste trafficking scheme between Italy and Tunisia that led to the arrest of over 40 people from both countries and stronger European Union export rules.
Asia: Batmunkh Luvsandash of Mongolia
After being born to a nomadic herder family and working as an electrical engineer for construction and mining projects, 81-year-old Luvsandash used his expertise to fight to protect 66,000 acres of Dornogovi province from extractive activities.
Europe: Besjana "Besi" Guri and Olsi Nika of Albania
The efforts of Guri, a 37-year-old who trained as a social worker, and Nika, a 39-year-old biologist and aquatic ecologist, to safeguard the Vjosa River from a hydropower dam development led to Albania and Europe's first new national park protecting a wild river and its tributaries.
Islands: Carlos Mallo Molina of the Canary Islands
Mallo Molina, a 36-year-old born in mainland Spain, left his job as a civil engineer specializing in port construction to launch the conservation group Innoceana, which fought to protect the Canary Islands' marine ecosystem from the proposed Fonsalía Port.
North America: Laurene Allen of the United States
Allen, a 62-year-old clinical social worker, campaigned for the closure of the Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics plant in Merrimack, New Hampshire, and continues to fight for cleanup efforts and stricter regulations regarding per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly called "forever chemicals" because they persist in the environment and people's bodies for long periods.
South and Central America: Mari Luz Canaquiri Murayari of Peru
Canaquiri Murayari is the 56-year-old president of the Kukama women's organization Asociación de Mujeres Huaynakana Kamatahuara Kanawon, which won a landmark Rights of Nature court ruling that granted legal personhood to the Marañón River.
This year's prize winners are set to be celebrated on Monday at an in-person and livestreamed ceremony in San Francisco, California, at 5:30 pm Pacific Daylight Time.
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'Endangering Endangered Species Seems to Be the Family Hobby': Trump Jr. Denounced for Killing Rare Sheep in Mongolia
Days after killing the endangered animal, Trump Jr. was given retroactive permission for slaughtering the sheep.
Dec 11, 2019
Donald Trump Jr. over the summer killed an endangered Mongolian Argali sheep, continuing the tradition he shares with his brother Eric of going to other countries and killing their rare wildlife, ProPublica reported Wednesday.
Trump Jr., son of U.S. President Donald Trump, was days later retroactively given permission for killing the animal.
\u201cHere's a picture of Donald Trump, Jr. in traditional Mongolian garb \u2014 on a trip to that country that included shooting and killing a beloved species of endangered sheep \u2014 and special treatment from the government. \n\nKeep up \ud83d\udc49https://t.co/6aQQVL9GFn\nMore \ud83d\udc49https://t.co/vVO2msYlUd\u201d— ProPublica (@ProPublica) 1576081808
Bill McKibben, co-founder of climate advocacy group 350.org, tweeted that Trump Jr. was following his family's example.
"Further endangering endangered species seems to be the family hobby," McKibben said, a reference to how the president has systematically slashed species protections in the U.S.
\u201cFurther endangering endangered species seems to be the family hobby\nhttps://t.co/5CknrvgVGr\u201d— Bill McKibben (@Bill McKibben) 1576158550
According to ProPublica, the timing of the permit's issuance was a bit suspect:
The Mongolian government granted Trump Jr. a coveted and rare permit to slay the animal retroactively on Sept. 2, after he'd left the region following his trip. It's unusual for permits to be issued after a hunter's stay. It was one of only three permits to be issued in that hunting region, local records show.
Afterward, Trump Jr. met privately with the country's president, Khaltmaagiin Battulga, before departing the capital of Ulaanbaatar back to the U.S., according to Khuantai Khafezyn, a local government official in the region where Trump Jr. hunted the argali and a former government official with knowledge of the meeting. It isn't clear what was discussed.
Animal rights activist Ari Solomon said on Twitter that Trump Jr.'s behavior was par for the course.
"While his father is trying to gut the Endangered Species Act, he's out killing endangered animals," said Solomon. "This family is trash."
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